Mohammad Amir, on his return to first-class cricket, clinched three wickets in 11 overs.

Marcus Trescothick was all praises for Mohammad Amir’s bowling efforts in Pakistan’s practice match against Somerset before they face England at Lord’s. Amir took 3 for 36 in 11 overs which included the wicket of the former England opener. He also claimed the wicket of Adam Hose, who was making his first-class debut, and returned after the break to dismiss Peter Trego. The left-arm pacer had returned to the limited overs team earlier this year after serving a five-year suspension. Somerset could only manage 128 in reply to Pakistan’s 1st innings total of 359/8 declared, and Pakistan added to their lead as they finished the second day on 140/4.

Trescothick hit two fours before perishing in the 14th ball of Amir’s spell when he edged the ball to keeper Sarfraz Ahmed. “He bowled very well,” the 40-year-old left-handed batsman was quoted by AFP.

“He swung the ball really late, that’s the biggest thing we noticed.“In my ‘magnificent’ eight, I thought it was pretty hard work, it was tricky. You get a lot of bowlers who swing it quite early but he was swinging it late and as it was coming down the pitch, you were almost guessing whether it was an inswinger or whether it was one of the straight ones,” he explained. “He got Adam Hose with a good inswinger round the wicket and Pete Trego got an absolute beauty. That bit of extra pace is the thing. He hasn’t played international cricket for a number of years, so there’s probably an extra bit of zip he has that makes him hard work.”

Alastair Cook, the England captain, had speculated that Amir might be booed by the spectators but Trescothick said he was not surprised by the modest applause that was reserved for the Pakistani bowler making his comeback in Taunton.

“I don’t think you’d expect anything else,” said Trescothick. “We get on and play the game and it is what it is.”

Misbah-ul-Haq has already shown his faith in Amir’s return by stating: “Mohammad Amir can still prove he is the best bowler in the world”. The returning pacer who has lost his floppy hair for a shorter haircut has also found support from Wasim Akram who has even suggested that the tainted speedster might be Pakistan’s bowling spearhead in the upcoming series. The former great sees potential in Amir pairing up with senior pro Yasir Shah who is returning after a ban of three months for breaching the ICC's anti-doping code.

“Amir can be the leader of the pack, which also has a quality legspinner in Yasir Shah. He has got pace and skill so go out and try to do his best.”